Syracuse, NY -- Many listeners are struck by the Emerson String Quartet’s ability to blend sound, almost as if they were playing one instrument. Violist Lawrence Dutton says this is, in fact, the least important part of playing in an ensemble.

“It’s a byproduct of what we’ve done,” he says in a phone interview, “but what we try to attempt is a kind of projection of all the individual voices as the music requires.”

Dutton explains that the quartet’s main concern is to remain true to the composer’s intentions in their interpretations.

The quartet, which also includes violinists Eugene Drucker and Philip Setzer and cellist David Finckel, will bring their devotion to chamber music to Syracuse on Saturday, when their performance opens the 60th season on the Syracuse Friends of Chamber Music.

They have played the complete Beethoven, Bartok, Mendelssohn and Shostakovich cycles through Europe and North America.

“It’s important for us to play all the major repertoire,” Dutton says.

Most recently, the ensemble traveled to South America, an event that was “long overdue” after 32 years of touring, according to Dutton. “We’ve been very fortunate,” he says.

The group’s most recent release, “Intimate Letters,” explores works of Czech composers Leos Janacek and Bohuslav Martinu. Martinu dedicated one of the selected works, Three Madrigals for Violin and Viola, to Dutton’s former mentor, the late Lillian Fuchs. “They are the only duets for these two instruments since Mozart,” Dutton explains.

The group has to its credit more than 30 award-winning albums; eight Grammy Awards, including two for Best Classical Album; three Gramophone Awards; the Avery Fisher Prize; and two honorary doctorates.

The quartet has been equally devoted to sharing their knowledge with younger musicians. During their residency at the State University at Stony Brook since 2002, the ensemble has held International Chamber Music Workshops and maintains an educational affiliation with Carnegie Hall.

“Teaching has become more important as we get older,” Dutton says. “All of our great mentors have passed away, so we’ve become the older mentors. It’s important to pass on what we’ve learned and keep that tradition going.”

Their next plans involve remote teaching. “You have to use new mediums,” Dutton says.